MAHARASHTRA TATE ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD learned counsel for the respective parties. Leave to amend. Amendment be carried out forthwith.

(2.) IN all these petitions, the common question of law for consideration is, whether the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (the petitioner- State undertaking)was liable to pay the excise duty on various items like clamps, brackets, top clips, V cross arms, transformer belts, stay- sets and poles etc. , which were being produced in its workshops, either by its employees or through the contract labours, and hence these petitions are being decided by a common judgment.

(3.) THE petitioner board had undertaken expansion of its activities of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and therefore, it decided to erect power stations and sub-stations, transmission towers, network of transmission and network of distribution lines. The fabrication work of transmission and distribution lines, poles and accessories involved in the execution of the said works was undertaken by the Board at its workshops at different places. The items like clamps, brackets, top clips, V cross arms, transformer belts, stay-sets and poles etc. were fabricated by the petitioner from the duty paid steel structure members such as MS Flat, MS Channels, MS Bar, MS Angles, rsj girder poles etc. Said fabrication work was carried out at its workshops and it had obtained 1-4 license dated 18-11-1986 issued under Rules 174 and 178 of the Central Excises Rules 1994 ("excise Rules" for short ). It is also admitted that part of the said fabrication work was entrusted to other private parties on job work basis.